Secrets of the Heart
by blue eyes7961
Summary: Greed can be a very dangerous thing, especially in the hands of someone willing to kill. It truns the gang's trip to the Bahamas into a dangerous walk down memory lane, showing the girls how more then just their friendship connects their dark pasts.
1. Spring Break

**Secrets of the Heart**

**Chapter 1**

_Spring Break_

"And so class, that is how you determine the female species from the male, any questions?" The bony and slender Mrs. Johnson turned to face the class with questioning eyes. The class returned her gaze with horrified stares, jaws dropped, and their faces glued to their teacher's. All of the students in room 210 seemed uncomfortable, except for the charming boy sitting in the back row, asking to see the little creatures mate again. The boy sitting next to him with the long brown ponytail looked at his friend as if he was the most stupid person on earth. However he couldn't hold back the laughter that bursted up, his perverted friend being the cause.

One scorching glare from the girl in the middle row with a long brown ponytail and dazzling brown eyes and the two were immediately silenced. The boy with the little black ponytail blew a kiss to the girl and gave a dashing smile. She turned around to face the front again, her cheeks now tinted pink. The girl sitting next to her with brilliant red hair pulled into two low pigtails giggled at her friend's reaction. Her jade eyes danced with laughter as she playfully pushed the other girl's shoulder. "Come on Sango, you know you like it."

Her blush deepened to a hot pink and she got an angry and defensive look. "For the last time, I never have liked it and I NEVER will! And if you even mention the name Miroku, I will personally go over to Koga and tell him your little secret." Sango now sat back in her seat, satisfied with her performance. Ayame slightly blushed at the mention of Koga but decided to just shrug it off. Sango was always so tough around the edges and always stood up for herself. Although, she never even meant half the stuff she said most of the time. Ayame turned slightly in her seat to get a peek of the handsome boy in the back, sitting next to the pervert. A sigh escaped her lips then she twisted to the front again. He would never notice me, she repeated over in her head.

It was seventh period, the last hour of the day at their high school. And Mrs. Johnson wasn't helping them shake off the excitement of finally getting to leave school for spring break. Since it was one of their few breaks, everyone always tried to do something really fun. This was easy for the girls because Sango was so rich and had complete control over all her cash. Sango's dad had owned a part of Ayame's Grandfather's jewelry store. After he had died, Ayame's grandfather had continued to give Sango her father's share of the money. Sango's parents had been killed in a car crash when she was only six years old.

All four of the family members had been in the crash. Their car had slid off the road and crashed into a tree. Her mother had been killed instantly, but her father had somehow managed to pull his six year old daughter and his infant son out of the car that was now leaking gasoline. He leaned down and whispered quietly into his daughter's ear, "Be strong." He had left Sango sitting in the snow, holding her younger brother as he stumbled back through the snow to get her mother out. When he had gotten inside the car, it had caught fire and there was a giant explosion. Sango was thrown backwards and later woke up, still clutching her younger brother. She then walked to the nearest town and collapsed. She awoke the next day inside of a hospital.

She was told that her younger brother, Kohaku, had been forced into a coma. They then told her that both her parents were dead, but they didn't have to. She knew they had been dead from the moment her father had said his dying words. _Be Strong._ She repeated theses words over and over in her mind. The next day Kaede, her nanny, had come to pick her up and to transfer Kohaku to a hospital in Tokyo. While they were driving, Kaede had pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to stare at the little girl in the back seat. "You know," she had said," It's alright to cry." Sango only stared at her.

She wouldn't cry.

Never again.

"Sango!" Mrs. Johnson yelled into the daydreaming girl's face. Laughter circled around the room as a startled Sango shook her old memories away. The teacher raised her hand in signal for the class to quiet down. "Will you please stop daydreaming and pay attention?" she asked sharply. Sango nodded timidly and watched her teacher's back as she continued back to the blackboard. Ayame turned to Sango and gave a reassuring smile to try and comfort her best friend. Sango did smile back but she still looked so lost. There was a confused look in her eyes and she could only seem to stare off into space.

Ayame could take a good guess at what she was thinking about, or maybe, what she was trying not to think about. She gave a sad sigh as she fidgeted with her black satin skit underneath the desk. She could never even imagine what Sango had to go through as a child, and at such a young age. Ayame's parents were dead too, but only in her own mind. They had abandoned her with her grandfather when she was only four. She could no longer remember a clear picture of her parents, but she remembered enough to make it hurt. But, she was somewhat grateful, she didn't love anyone else in the entire world more than she loved her grandfather.

The only thing Ayame wished that she could change about him was his age and his condition. He had recently grown very ill and Ayame worried about him everyday. But he told her not to. He still laughed and made odd jokes all the time at how ugly he looked whenever he was standing next to his beautiful granddaughter. Although she told him every time that she thought he was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on, she still glowed at his hidden compliment. He always had a weird way of making her feel special and laugh. She gave a small smile as she remembered things that had happened in the past, then jumped up as the bell rang loudly through the room, startling her. She watched as the rest of the students began to cheer and raced out of the room.

"Class, I have an assignment for you to do over your break!" Mrs. Johnson yelled over the stampeding students. They all stopped dead in their tracks and groaned. "Have fun!" she shouted with an unusual smile on her face. The class began cheering again and continued running from the room. The hallways were packed solid so Sango and Ayame struggled to get to their lockers where they met up with Kagome and Amaya. "Hey you guys," Ayame called to the two girls, already standing with their lockers open. They both turned and gave wide smiles, revealing their straight white teeth.

"Hey," Kagome replied excitedly," Can you believe Spring Break is actually here?" "Hardly," Sango answered while standing on tip toes and reaching into the top shelf of her locker. "Hey girls, before we head out, can we hit the bathroom. I've had to go since like fourth period." Ayame looked around at the group pleadingly and they all nodded. Amaya lead the way into the bathroom and once inside, she let out a loud dish. "Mr. Zach gave me a whole bunch of extra homework, just because I was talking!" she grounded out between here teeth with cursing her evil teacher.

When she got no sympathy from the rest of the girls, she glared at them. They only looked at her with straight faces, Kagome was trying hard not to laugh. Amaya was always the one getting caught talking or passing notes, probably because she did it so often. Amaya finally gave up and approached the mirror with the rest of the girls. They always stood in the same row, first Sango, followed by Kagome, then Amaya, and then last was Ayame. Sango adjusted the silver chain that was loosely wrapped around her black flares. She also had on a tight white tank top that buttoned up the front with the two top ones left unbuttoned. As usual, she had her hair up in a high ponytail. Next was Kagome, she had on dark blue jean flares and a similar top to Sango's except hers was red with thicker sleeves. And as usual, she had her hair down.

Amaya had on tight faded hip-hugger jeans that had holes in them down the front and a tight lavender t-shirt. And of course, her silver locket and key. The key was on the chain with the locket, and the other girls had never seen her take it off. It was the last thing Amaya had of her parents. Her father had hung himself when she was five years old. A year after that, her mother had drowned herself. Well, that's what the police reports say. Amaya could never seem to talk about it. The police knew that her parents had been murdered, but unless they got Amaya to tell them who it was, they had nothing. The rest of the girls could never figure out why she wouldn't want to put her parents' murderer in jail, but what could they do?

Ayame was last in line. She had on a long lacy jade tank top to match her eyes, as well as a ruffled black skirt that cut off about mid thigh. The four smacked their glossy lips at the same time before heading out the bathroom door. They hurriedly ran through the now deserted halls before pushing open the large doors and racing down the steps and into the sunshine. As they walked down the sidewalk, Amaya could only stare at Sango through her sparkling dark blue eyes. "What," Sango snapped at her, it was making her nervous the way she was just watching her.

"I was just wondering, where you decided we would go for break?" Amaya asked timidly, slightly hiding behind her long dark brown hair pulled up into a half ponytail. Since Sango was the one that was going to be paying for the trip, they had all decided to let her be the one to choose where they would go. Well, all of them but Sango. She hated to be put in the spotlight and would rather they all picked it out together. "Well," she said," I decided that maybe we would go to the Bahamas, since you know who will be performing there." She said the last part while smiling at the rest of the group, waiting for them to connect he dots. Ayame was the first to get wide eyes then slowly came to a stop. "Do you mean, who I think you mean?" She asked excitedly while jumping up and down and twirling in circles. The other two girl's brains finally clicked in and they began jumping up and down with Ayame. "Behind the Masks!" the three screamed in unison.

Sango joined them in their jumping and twirling in circles as they began to scream at the top of their lungs. Behind the Masks was there most favorite band of all time. There were four guys in the band, all around the girls' own age. They always wore a mask during their performance or in public and practically every girl in the school was in love with at least one of them. The boys never even used their own names. They were just known as the singer. The lead guitar, the base guitar, and the drummer. The girls did think it was weird, but the guys were just way to hot for them to care! "Sango you're the best!" Kagome screamed as she latched onto the girl's middle.

"Um, Kagome, get off!" Sango ordered the girl sharply and took in a deep breath after Kagome had let go, finally allowing her to breath. "So, when are we leaving?" Amaya asked anxiously. "Tomorrow, same day as the band is getting their." Sango explained to the expectant girls. "Oh my god! I've gotta go pack!" Ayame screamed as she began racing down the street. "Me too! Come on Kagome!" Amaya yelled as she got hold of Kagome and started dragging her down the street, the opposite way Ayame had ran. "Bye Sango! We'll call you tonight to get everything set," Amaya yelled over her shoulder as she dragged Kagome, always a step behind her.

Kagome and Amaya had been best friends since preschool. After Amaya's mother had dies, she went up for adoption. The man that adopted her however was so mean to her. She would always show up at school with a fresh bruise or cut everyday. This went on for about two years before the school finally took her away from the man and filed him with child abuse. Kagome had begged her mother to adopt Amaya, she agreed but said that it was up to Amaya. Kagome was so excited to finally have a sister but then was shocked when Amaya said no.

Amaya explained that she had already had a mother that she loved very much, and she didn't want anyone to replace her. Kagome's mom had only smiled at this answer while Kagome stared at Amaya in disbelief with tears streaming down her face. Then her mom pulled Amaya up into a hug to whisper in her ear," You don't have to call me mom id you don't want to. But you still are welcome to stay here, you could think about it as a permanent sleepover. Amaya only gave her the amazing smile she was known for and had moved in the next week. Kagome was so excited to finally have a sister, and if the two stood next to each other, you actually would think they were. The two looked exactly the same except instead of black hair and brown eyes like Kagome, Amaya had dark brown hair with dark blue eyes.

"Mom!" Amaya yelled as she and Kagome burst through the front door. "Oh good, you two are home. So, how was school?" Mrs. Higurashi asked smiling while stepping into the entry way. "Sango is taking us to the Bahamas!" Amaya blurted out so fast the rest of the room could hardly understand her. The two girls stood looking excited and slightly worried while they waited for their mom's reaction. Amaya soon got tired of waiting and ran up the steps to wait at the top. "When?" was all their mom could seem to say. "Tomorrow," Kagome informed her while running up the steps to catch up with Amaya. Mrs. Higurashi sighed, how she wished Sango would save up her money for college or her future instead of using it to spoil her own daughters. But, it wasn't her decision to make and she knew if she tried to call Sango she wouldn't be able to talk her out of it. Not to mention the rest of the girls would hate her for trying to ruin their trip. So she just hurried into the kitchen to tell grandpa.

"Can you actually believe that we're going to the Bahamas tomorrow?" Kagome asked excitedly as Amaya walked into her bedroom. "I know! It's unbelievable. But you know what, I'm gonna need my bathing suit." She stated while walking towards Kagome's suitcase and grabbing the two piece out of it. She turned to leave the room and walked across the hall, back to her own bedroom. "Oh come on! You have like five others!" Kagome shouted at Amaya's retreating back. "So do you!" was Amaya's simple answer as she closed the door to her room. "But that's my favorite one!" Kagome whined at her empty room. Kagome huffed but then went back to hurriedly packing her things. She put in all of her clothes, her make up, her bathing suits, her…. toothbrush? "Hmm, where is it? I thought I already packed it." She shuffled through her bag before shrugging and walking towards the bathroom to find the missing pink toothbrush.

When she was walking past Amaya's closed door on her way to the bathroom, she heard strange noises coming from inside. She stared at the door confusedly before finally deciding she didn't even want to know what was going on and continued her way to the bathroom. When she was on her way back, the noise was still coming from behind the door. "Amaya, what the hell are you doing…in…here…?" Kagome stared confusedly at her sister before bursting into uncontrollable laughter and falling to her knees. "Stop laughing! This is soo not funny!" Amaya yelled at her annoying sister in between jumps onto her jam packed suitcase. When Kagome finally had enough breath to tell her to stop jumping, she got up and walked over to the trampled case to find the source of Amaya's frustration. When she saw what lay inside she broke into another fit of giggles and fell to the floor a second time.

It was the messiest piece of shit she had ever seen! Everything was just completely thrown into it and stuffed into spaces obviously to small for the object. She quickly went through everything and sorted it into nice and neat piles. Within a minute she sat back to admire her handiwork. "Don't forget your toothbrush." Kagome sighed exasperatedly, holding out the blue stick. For the rest of her life whenever she went on a trip with Amaya, she would never let her forget her toothbrush. Once when they were younger they had gone on a camping trip and Amaya had forgotten her toothbrush. Kagome was forced to share with her. She almost gagged thinking back to the piece of broccoli she had found in it. Amaya laughed then gave a smile in thanks as she scanned the green walls and floor for anything she might have forgotten. The two may have looked alike but their taste in rooms was exact opposite. Kagome walked back into her light pink room with bright yellow curtains. Everything was neat and tidy and smelled of fresh lemons.

Amaya's room was exact opposite. The walls were dark turquoise green and the ceiling had red balls hanging from it, inside each was a little light. The red bedspread was messy, as was the piles of clothes hidden behind the closed closet doors. When you walked into the odd room you would immediately smell peppermint. When Amaya had first moved in, she had spilled her mother's bottle of peppermint perfume all over the rug. Mrs. Higurashi insisted that they throw it out but Amaya had pressed she wanted to keep it. Kagome ran back into the green room and skidded to a halt. "Sango just called, the plane leaves at seven in the morning!" Kagome notified Amaya with wide eyes. Amaya flopped onto the face first and groaned into the pillows. She hated to get up early. "That means we'll have to get up at five in order to get there on time." Amaya's muffled voice came from the pillows. Kagome nodded then turned to look at the clock.

10:00 P.M. was written in big red digital numbers across the screen. She squeaked then ran into her room and jumped into bed and under her covers. Amaya loved to stay up late but thought it would probably be best if she went to bed now. Not just for her own sake, but for everyone that has to be around her tomorrow on the plane for seventeen hours. She let her head sink into her pillow and smiled as she closed her eyes. By this time next week, I swear I will kiss the lead singer!

* * *

Ayame walked through the tall red doors to her house and into the familiar entry. Her house was the biggest that she knew of, since her grandfather was such a rich man, she supposed he felt more important in a big house. Her grandfather was one of her favorite subjects to talk about since his life was so interesting to her. Late at night when she was little, he would pull her up into his big fluffy red armchair by the fire and whisper the stories into her ear, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear them but her. Like she had said before, he always made her feel special in odd ways. He told her everything, he told her how he fell in love with grandma, how awful he felt when he had to leave her for the war, and then he would always smile when he told her about how he came back to marry her. He laughed when he remembered the night his son was born. He had ripped off the nurse's earring, making the doctor's bill ten times more expensive. He then told her how he had made his fortune, he had designed his own jewelry in a small shop, and that shop eventually grew into an entire company. But then, his face would grow very sad and he would tell her that's enough stories for one night, and send her off to bed. He didn't have to tell her what happened next, that much she already knew.

Her parents had left her, abandoned her with her sick and old grandpa. Not that she didn't love him, she just knew that he wouldn't be there for her forever. And because of that, she wanted a piece of his special jewelry to remember him by when he left her forever. But she didn't want the biggest diamond or ruby in the world, she wanted one thing. A silver locket with a key. However, her mother had taken that one thing with her when she left. She couldn't even leave her that much. The reason Ayame had been friends with Sango, Amaya, and Kagome in the first place was only because their parents had all been best friends. They were all in some sort of group together or something, Ayame didn't know. All she knew was that her grandpa had made a necklace for each couple and had locked something inside each locket. The key didn't open the silver hearts, it was basically him putting sarcasm into his work.

She thought about where each necklace was now. Sango's mother's had been lost in the car accident, Kagome's mom still had hers but chose to keep it in a jewelry box for safekeeping. Amaya wore her mother's practically all the time and as she angrily knew, her so-called mother had taken her own. It always drove her crazy to think about what was in those necklaces since grandpa wouldn't even tell her. She gave an agitated sigh before yelling," Grandpa, I'm home1" She listened as her voice echoed through the house. There was no answer, but there was no way he could have not heard that. When still there was no response she began to feel a tiny twinge in her stomach. "Grandpa…" She called out to the empty room. "Hello Ayame," a chilling happy voice came from behind her. She whipped around with a smile glued to her face. "Uncle Kane! It's great to see you!" She was completely lying through her teeth. She forced herself to lean up and give him an awkward hug but he pushed her back.

"Dad's not here, so we can skip the hugging and the happy shit." He spat at her while turning away and walking towards the kitchen. Ayame's smile instantly dropped. He opened the fridge door and bent down to look inside. "That's just fine with me," She growled down at him," but it would be nice to know where grandpa is." He ignored her question and pulled out a jar of mustard as well as some bologna. "How old is this bologna?" he asked as he turned to stare at Ayame with a stupid expression. "Only a day or two," she lied. It couldn't hurt him that much to eat two week old bologna, could it? He gave a fake smile of thanks and walked over to the counter to prepare his sandwich. "You still haven't answered my question, where's grandpa," she asked more forcefully. "He went to the hospital or something," he answered while walking off into the living room and slumping down onto the chair in front of the television.

"What!" she yelled at her stupid uncle," What happened!" "Heart attack or something," was his only answer as he switched through the channels. Ayame's jade eyes grew wide with horror as she ran to the front door and back onto the street. The hospital was only about ten blocks away so she ran there quickly, panting as she walked through the familiar waiting room. It was a private hospital and she had been there so many times lately that she knew everyone and her way around. "Where is he!" she shouted at the secretary with sweat dripping down her face and ruining her cover up. Not wanting to be in the presence of the source of the stink any longer, the woman pointed to a room down the hall. Ayame gave a small nod in thanks before dashing down the hall. "What's going on!" she shouted with authority as she boomed through the closed door. Two doctors stopped talking to turn at look at her. Her gaze fell to the bed and saw a middle aged man lying there naked, covered in an odd reddish purple rash.

Her face grew hot and turned a scarlet red. "Oops, wrong room. Sorry!" she called over her shoulder as she ran into the next room, now exhausted. When she walked into the next room she began to smile. There sitting in the bed was her beloved grandpa, turning on his charm with an elderly nurse. He stopped his flirting when he noticed his granddaughter standing in the doorway. "Aww, Ayame!" his voice boomed," Come over here and talk to me. This is the gorgeous girl I was just telling you about Julie." The old nurse smiled and said her hello before walking to the table to continue fixing grandpa's lunch. Her grandpa stood smiling at her but there was no humor in her own eyes. "Grandpa, what happened?" she asked seriously. He just gave a small shrug and smiled even wider. Sometimes he could be so transparent. "I just passed out for a little bit, no big deal." He explained to his granddaughter reassuringly. She must not have seemed convinced because he took her hand," I promise. It was just a small glitch, nothing big."

This seemed to reassure the girl because she finally smiled back. "So how was school, did you have fun?" he asked her. She was reluctant to change the subject but she finally gave in and told him about her plans for the Bahamas. "Aww, the Bahamas, beautiful, beautiful place. You better head home now and start packing or you probably won't make it on time. You know how long it takes you to get packed." He winked at her and laughed when she didn't think it was funny. "You don't really expect me to just leave you here like this do you?" she asked with venom in her voice. She couldn't believe that he actually thought she was that selfish! "Well, I certainly don't expect you to miss out on such an amazing adventure. And I already told you that I'm fine. Besides, I have Kane home to help me around." "A lot of help that will be," Ayame growled while rolling her eyes. "Oh, hush up. Now you get home and get straight to packing. I'll call a cab so you don't have to walk, oh, and Ayame." She turned to look at him in question. "Take a shower," he busted out, then began laughing.

She narrowed her eyes at the man, but then gave him a smile and blew a kiss before she left the room. Julie walked back over to the bed shaking her head. "What? What did I do?" the sick man lying in the bed asked innocently. She swatted angrily at his leg. "You know just as well as I do that it will only hurt her more the longer you wait to tell her! When exactly are you even going to tell her? After you're dead?" she hissed. "I will," he replied solemnly," In time."

* * *

"What do you mean there are no more seats left? I bought those tickets two weeks age!" Sango yelled angrily into the phone. The poor worn out man on the other line had been arguing with Sango over this for the past hour and a half. "Look, I've told you before, there was confusion with the tickets and your seats are sold to someone else." "Well, is there a later flight?" Sango asked agitatedly into the phone. "Yes, but I'm afraid it's all booked up." He told her disappointedly, he really wanted to get off the phone. "But I want to go see Behind the Masks!" Sango whined into the phone. "You and all the other female teenage population." The man replied exhaustedly into the phone. "Look, the only thing I can get you for tomorrow would be four seats on a smaller jet with another party, a thousand bucks a piece." He told the frustrated girl on the other line. By now he was praying she would just say yes, she was a very tiring person to talk to! Sango gave a sigh then finally gave in. The man joyfully put the phone down to leave the angry Sango with no one to talk to but herself.

Well, time to call the girls. She called Ayame first and talked to her for about a half an hour. By the time she finally got off the phone with Kagome it was already 9:55 P.M. She started laughing to herself when she got off the phone with Kagome. Kagome will probably forget to tell Amaya we're flying in a first class jet plane until she sees the plane tomorrow. She lay down on the bed, worn out from having to argue for so long. She was quickly asleep, fading back into a dark part of her mind. Far away from her warm cozy bed, and into the cold snow.

Sango sprang up out of bed panting, her bed was soaked with cold sweat as she sat shivering. Those horrible images of the crash were playing with her mind again. But one particular image stayed in her mind, no matter how hard she tried to get rid of it. The car hadn't caught fire all by itself, someone else had started it. That someone knew her parents were still inside. That someone had been the one to throw the match. And as the car sat burning in the snow, that someone looked at her, and smiled.

* * *

A.N.) Well, finally done with the first chappie and i'm exhausted! Its like 2:00 A.M. right now. see ya, i'm gonna go to bed. 


	2. Leaving on a Jet Plane

**Secrets of the Heart**

**Chapter 2**

_**Leaving on a Jet plane**_

"Beep!"

Kagome's eyes shot open at the loud and annoying sound of her alarm clock. She cringed from the noise so early in the morning and reached out with her head still under the blanket, moving her hand across the night stand till she found the clock. She pressed the button down but it wouldn't shut off. She pressed it repeatedly but the stubborn thing still wouldn't shut up.

She jumped out of the covers and stomped over to the night stand, and then with the clock in her hand, she opened the window and threw it into the grass two stories below. She heard it smash and finally stop beeping so she slammed her window shut. She wasn't very drowsy anymore so she made her way to Amaya's room with ease.

Still frustrated with the clock, instead of tapping Amaya on the shoulder how she usually woke her she jumped onto the bulge under the red covers. Amaya fell off the bed from the impact but didn't seem to notice. "Alright, alright I'm up," she yawned with her eyes still closed on the floor. She got off the floor as graceful as a fat hippo and walked into the hall, moving as if she were drunk. Her eyes were still closed so when she reached the bathroom, she didn't realize that the door was closed. Her head smacked into it first before she toppled down to the floor for a second time in a minute.

Kagome fell to the floor as well, laughing uncontrollably at her stupid sister while Amaya groaned and clutched her abused forehead. The only good thing this seemed to do was wake her up completely so she had no trouble finishing getting ready. They both went into the bathroom to put on their make up and do their hair. Kagome was wearing a pair of white capris and a low cut dark pink tank top with dark pink lace bordering the top. And as usual she was wearing her hair down. Amaya had on a different pair of faded hip-hugger jeans and had on a light blue halter top with a silver chain that went down her back from where it buttoned at her neck. She had pulled her dark brown hair up into a high ponytail with her bangs down to frame her face.

Amaya rolled her eyes at Kagome once she was done putting her eye shadow and liner on. She was quickly pulling Kagome's thick hair into a bun when they heard the sound of a car beeping. "That must be Sango," Kagome squeaked excitedly. The two girls raced each other outside and down the steps to the shrine, the same way they used to do when they were little. The two skidded to a halt as their eyes widened and mouths dropped. Sango was impatiently waiting by a Hummer limo sitting parked in the road. As the two stood in awe, Sango's foot tapping got louder. "Come on you two!" Sango barked." We're soo late!"

This snapped them out of their daze and they quickly turned and ran back up the steps for their stuff. When they reached the top, their mom, grandpa, and Souta were waiting, already holding their suitcases. Kagome smiled and ran over to her mom, giving her a big hug, and then moved down the line to Grandpa. Amaya hung back shyly, even though she had been adopted for almost nine years, she had always felt awkward when it came time to say goodbye.

She wasn't sure whether to kiss them on the cheeks, give them hugs, wave, or just give them a smile. But Kagome's mom always had this warm, welcoming smile that she couldn't resist even if she wanted to. She followed Kagome's example and walked over to her second mom and wrapped her arms around her. But this hug felt different, it felt amazing, like she was finally being able to hug her real mom again. This thought caught her by surprise, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. The back of her eyes prickled and tears threatened to fall.

She quickly pulled away and moved to give Grandpa a quick hug. Kagome stared at her back while she was doing this, completely confused. What was she thinking about that would make her cry? By the time Amaya had gotten to Souta, she had managed to trap her tears from falling down her cheeks. She gave a smile and bent down on her knees so she was face to face with the young boy.

"Are you gonna miss me?" Amaya asked him with sarcasm. He smirked," No way, how could I miss someone who snores!" Normally she would get mad and push him into a wall or something hard. But the smile on his face and the fact that his mother was standing right there changed that. She gave him another smile back and ruffled his hair while she stood up.

She walked over to where Kagome was waiting and squinting in the early morning sunlight just peaking over the horizon, waiting to start the new day. Kagome was giving her a weird look that Amaya couldn't read. Amaya gave an overly large smile to get her attention and to let her know she was freaking her out. Kagome broke away from her own thoughts and turned with her things to start walking down the steps.

Amaya followed her, listening to the _clunk clunk_ of her suitcase as it hit each step behind her. When they reached the bottom, Sango looked like she was about to have a panic attack. She stalked stiffly over to the two girls and yanked their suitcases away. They both stared at her with shocked looks on their faces, although, they probably should have expected it. Not only was Sango not a morning person, but she could get very impatient. Very, very impatient. Kagome crawled into the limo and Sango quickly scrambled in after her. Amaya was about to crawl in when she heard her name.

"Amaya, Amaya wait!" It was Mrs. Higurashi," Amaya, I just wanted to ask you something." She was looking at her with a smiling face but she could tell there were tears forming behind her eyes. Amaya blinked and just stared at her, this had surprised her. "Could you," she said while reaching inside her pocket, she pulled out a small vanilla envelope," give this to Kagome?" Amaya stared at the envelope. Mrs. Higurashi seemed to be urgent though and tucked it into her hand.

"Thank you," she said while stepping back. "Have a wonderful trip!" she added on while wiping wetness from her eye. Amaya nodded and climbed into the limo. "Oh, and Amaya, be sure to look after the others," She yelled through the closed car door. Amaya tapped on the window to signal she had heard before the car started to take off down the street. She breathed in the smell of the leather that was cooling her hot bare back. Sango pushed a button on the remote and the screen that separated the driver and the passengers slid down.

"Will you please go faster, we have a deadline to make here!" she yelled hysterically at the poor driver. "Geez Sango, don't have a cow." Kagome scoffed. Sango glared at her while Amaya snatched the remote out of her hand. "Excuse me if I had to get up at five o'clock this morning so that we wouldn't be late, and I have a huge migraine!" Sango screeched. "Hey Sango, where did you get the car," Amaya asked, trying to distract Sango so she didn't completely lose it. But this idea didn't seem to work, it only made her narrow her eyes and throw an empty paper cup and the back of the driver's head.

"Well, last night I called the airport to make sure everything was set and they told me they gave our seats away. As a bribe to continue using their company, they sent me this." She explained this as though it happened everyday and she had expected it. "So they gave you a limo as a present?" Kagome asked with wide eyes. Sango rolled her own eyes and laid back into the seat, closing her eyes. "No, "she sighed," This is just for the ride there."

After she said this the car got quiet, shortly Amaya couldn't stand it and began pressing the button on the remote Sango had used to make the screen go down. She made it go up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down… "Will you stop that!" Sango leaned forward in her seat, her eyes were tinted in blood red anger. Amaya gulped but quickly recovered. "Why don't you just try and make me?" Amaya spat like a snotty five year old would, sticking her tongue out provokingly.

Kagome sighed, she could tell she was just doing it to make Sango mad, and unfortunately for Amaya, it worked. Sango sprang off the seat and lunged for Amaya. Amaya squeaked and jumped down and tumbled onto the floor. The two wrestled for the remote for about five minutes. Kagome knew that Sango would win sooner or later, she always did. As Sango began to pull the remote from Amaya's tight grip, she pressed a button and the sun roof slid open, letting the sunlight pour into the shaded space.

Kagome's face broke into a wide grin and she jumped onto her seat so she could stick her head out of the roof. "Woo hoo!" She yelled into the cold morning air, her breath coming out as a tiny puff then quickly evaporating. Amaya's head was next to hers soon after and she threw her hands into the air, screaming and laughing as if she were on a rollercoaster.

Kagome smirked, ready to out scream her sister, she opened her mouth wide when something unanticipated went in. She fell back down to her seat and began coughing. Amaya quickly plopped down next to her, her eyes filled with worry. Eventually Kagome choked something up that went to the floor, along with some vomit. Sango's nose wrinkled as she examined the pile.

"Kagome, you swallowed a bug." Kagome's face instantly had a horrified stare, just as quickly as Amaya broke into giggles. "Stop laughing! You wouldn't be laughing if this happened to you!" Kagome shouted, her face was growing red from embarrassment and frustration. It only made Amaya laugh harder and in between laughs she began to sing. "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die!" Even Sango started to laugh so Kagome couldn't help but join in.

* * *

Ayame sat frustrated, impatiently waiting for Sango to get there. "Where are they?" she asked the empty room exasperatingly under her breath. "Ayame, have you left yet?" Her uncle's voice came sailing down the large staircase from his bedroom. He had been spending a lot of time up there for the past few days. "No, I'm still hear," she yelled angrily back up to him. His head popped out from behind his door and he gave an unusual smile, one she'd never seen before on her uncle's face, one of true happiness. Was it because she was leaving? This thought made her even angrier. 

"Good, because I have something to give you." He disappeared back into his bedroom then emerged again, but this time holding a box. As he walked down the steps, she saw that it was wrapped in lavender tissue paper with a light blue bow on top, far too large for the size of the package. Ayame stared at the parcel for a moment before remembering who it was that was holding it. Her attention quickly snapped up to her uncle's greasy face. "Listen, I know we haven't ever really gotten along, so, uh…. I guess I wanted to make up for it so, uh, here…."

He held the gift out to Ayame but she didn't take it, she didn't even look at it. Her jade eyes were glued to the man's face. This man who had dropped her down a flight of stairs when she was four, who had left her in a grocery store by herself when she was eight which right after had a bomb go off, who never even gave her a birthday card, who had hated her since the day she had stepped into this house. He wanted to try and make up for all of the now? Like hell!

"Money can't buy forgiveness." Ayame spat. She was glaring at her Uncle Kane like he was the devil himself. Maybe she would have taken it, if she didn't feel like he was acting this all out. The apology, the gift, the smile. Something was going on here, but she just couldn't figure out what. She remembered the night before when she told him her plans after she got back from the hospital.

"_So, we're going to the Bahamas, isn't that awesome!"_

"_As long as someone else is paying for your shit, I don't care where the hell you go. Who is paying for it anyway?"_

By now, Ayame was furious. How dare he talk to her like that! Of course, by now she should be used to it. She couldn't believe she even told him in the first place. But she was so excited and unfortunately for her, good old Uncle Kane was the only one around. She knew if she didn't just come out and say what he wanted, he would force it out of her. But she was just so pissed off at him it was hard.

"_Her name is Sango, Sango Akagawa."_

But this is the time things started to get weird. The moment after Sango's last name had left her lips, her uncle started to freak out. His breathing became short and came out in shallow pants. She noticed tiny beads of sweat forming at his hairline and his eyes were mad with rage and mostly terror. Ayame stepped back out of fear. She had never seen him act like this, and it was completely scaring her. She knew he wasn't right in the head, but this…?

This was just too weird. But just as fast as he had lost control, he seemed to calm back down. His breathing soon mellowed out and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was back to normal. "I'm gonna go get something to eat." He said, like nothing had even happened. He shoved roughly passed Ayame whose mouth was still slightly open.

But he didn't go to the kitchen, he ran straight up to his bedroom, and that's where he stayed. Since he hadn't come out, how could he have bought her a present? Did he make it himself? Thinking this, she started to feel guilty so she reached out and yanked the present away from him. When she heard a car beeping coming from outside, she hastily shoved the present into her purse. "That's Sango!" she squealed excitedly.

She glanced at him to see if he would freak out again but his features remained cheery. Really happy actually, unusually happy… She shrugged it off and quickly picked up her suitcase handle. "Thanks." She said almost so quietly and quickly he had almost missed it. She dashed out the door as fast as her heels would let her without toppling over. A man took her bag and put it in the trunk while the man Sango had pummeled with a cup earlier, leaned down to open the door.

Ayame had no time to wait for him so she threw the door open herself and climbed in, causing the door to pound into the man's head. He fell to the ground but went unnoticed by Ayame since she only slammed the door behind her. She fell down into a seat opposite of Amaya and stared at the other three's faces absent-mindedly, until she noticed her shoe was sitting in a pile of what looked like oatmeal and raisins.

Her nose wrinkled as she pulled her foot out and it didn't smell anything like cinnamon apple. "What is that?" Ayame asked with fear and disgust in her voice. Kagome's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and Amaya smiled and started to sing. "I know an old lady who swallowed a spider that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die."

"Oh please! It was just a fly!" Kagome whined as her cheeks grew a darker shade of pink. "You swallowed a fly! Gross, is that why you guys were so late!" She looked around at the other girls but they only smiled and Amaya started to play with the screen again. Ayame sighed before looking down at the gift in her purse again.

Should she open it? Should she just leave it in the limo and forget about it? Or maybe she should throw it away. She sighed again, but then what if it was something expensive? She bit her lip and decided to decide later. That's what she liked to do when things were bothering her or hurting her, just push them away as far as she could.

* * *

"That's what we're flying in!" Amaya asked in slight fear, her dark hair flowing in ripples on the wind behind her. The four of them were standing outside off the side of the runway, waiting for the jet to land. The other group they were traveling with was already on board, they had just gotten in from another airport and the jet was stopping for fuel. Ayame's skirt was jean and straight so it stayed at her sides, but Sango's short black skirt constantly threatened to fly up. A few minutes after the jet landed they saw some men in bright neon orange shirts and black pants carry their suitcases across the runway. 

Then some more men pulled down a staircase from the side of the jet, revealing the doorway inside. Sango walked briskly over to the men to talk to them about something which had seemed to be bothering her the whole morning and was the source of her anger. When she was done she seemed to be in a much better mood and practically skipped up the steps, into the jet with Kagome tailing behind her.

Had Kagome known that Sango was going to stop right when she got through the door, Kagome probably would have stopped as well before sending them both to the ground. But of course, she couldn't read Sango's mind so to the floor they went. Kagome threw her head back from her position on the floor, causing her hair to spring out of the bun and fall in glossy black ripples on her back.

"Why did you stop!" Kagome yelled agitatedly at the back of Sango's head, Sango didn't answer. When Kagome got off of her she saw that Sango could only stare ahead of her at something the seemed to horrify her. Kagome followed her gaze from her spot at the floor, as did Amaya and Ayame standing in the doorway. Their eyes shot open as well. Everyone was silent for what seemed like a very short eternity. Amaya seemed to be the first to snap out of the shock and cleared her throat. "Miroku, what're you doing here?"

* * *

"I swear, I didn't see anything!" Miroku shouted while scrunching down into a ball against the side of the couch, holding a pillow over his head. Sango looked as though she was about to pound him into the ground then hammer him down with nails. 

Her clenched fist was raised high, almost ready to strike, but she slowly began to lower it. "You swear?" Miroku moved the pillow down just below his eyes, very cautiously, and nodded. Sango dropped her arm completely before turning to face the front of her seat again. Miroku quickly relaxed and sat up, putting his arm around Sango's waist and scooting her close to him.

"You know," he smiled," Red is my favorite color." Sango's eyes burst open wide as she screamed and tackled him to the ground. She got on top of him and wrapped her hands around his throat and began bashing his head into the floor. "If you ever bring this up again I swear I will kill you!"

"Ok, ok I promise." Miroku's voice came out high and squeaky, probably because Sango was squeezing the air out of him. "Come on, its not like its his fault you tripped and your skirt flew up." The boy with the silver hair smirked as he said this. Amaya turned her head to her side and gave him a death glare.

"Shut up, will you?" He gave a small "keh" but seemed to have backed down. The seats on the jet were set up like two couches, each facing each other. On the couch on the right sat first Miroku, then Sango, then Kagome, then Kouga. Sango couldn't figure out for the life of her how she had managed to get stuck next to the pervert.

Across from Miroku on the second couch sat a boy with silver hair, golden eyes, and sharp features. The girls had learned his name was Sesshomaru, but he rarely said anything. Next to him and across from Sango sat Ayame, then Amaya who was across from Kagome, and then finally the boy who had smirked named Inuyasha who was across from Kouga.

The two groups had already started to fight and it began with who wanted what seats. "Please take your seats and remain securely fastened turning takeoff. Also, please shut off all cell phones and CD players, thank you." The pilot's voice came into the room through a small intercom system.

Amaya gulped. Inuyasha had fought her for the seat in the middle, claiming it as his own. When they both sat down at the same time, they were forced next to each other, each having half of a seat and both to stubborn to get up. Amaya now regretted her choice and turned to talk to the boy again. "Look, since we haven't known each other very long you probably don't know that I'm terrified of heights."

Inuyasha gave her another smirk, she now knew that she had remembered that look from somewhere before. But before she could think about it any longer, the plane began moving, picking up speed as it got further down the runway. Amaya grabbed onto Inuyasha's hand, squeezing it like a woman in labor would.

"Oww! Let go would ya, you're squeezing my hand off!" He pulled his arm away as hard as he could but it was no use, she wasn't letting go of him anytime soon. As they got higher she squeaked and grabbed onto his whole arm. He growled at her like a dog would but she ignored him. "Hey mutt-face, could you pass me a soda," Kouga's smirk was even bigger than Inuyasha's had been," Oh wait, it looks like you're a little tied up right now."

Kouga seemed satisfied when Inuyasha gave him a scowl before turning his attention to Ayame. "Hey babe, pass me a coke." Ayame's face turned scarlet red and she looked down to her lap. This, however, seemed to snap Amaya out of her trance because she stood up and stalked over to where Kouga sat.

He looked up at her and gave her a big smile. She smiled innocently back, and then kicked him in the shin. "How dare you talk to Ayame like that! Get off your lazy ass and get it yourself!" Kouga stared up at her, completely shocked while hugging his abused leg.

She turned and walked back to her seat, realizing then that it was already occupied. "Move! If you don't I swear I'll sit on you!" Amaya got angry very easily, so the other girls wouldn't have been surprised if he had already grown afraid of her. "Ahh! Why does Inuyasha always get to have all the fun!" Miroku pouted, he got a kick on the shin for that.

"You can sit somewhere else," Inuyasha scoffed. Amaya narrowed her eyes for a moment, as if deciding what she should do. Then, without another thought, she jumped into his lap, not being shy in where her foot landed, if you know what I mean. Inuyasha leaned forward slightly and groaned from the pain spreading in between his legs while Amaya made herself comfortable.

Miroku made an adorable pout face again before looking at Sango with a growing mischievous smile. Opening his arms wide he yelled," Go ahead Sango, jump right in, don't be shy!" A few seconds later he was locked inside the carry-on compartment with a bruise on his forehead.

Sango sat back down on the couch, spreading out across her extra room. Kagome laughed at the noises heard from overhead but stopped shortly after she felt something on her knee. She slowly turned to see who it was and she saw it was Kouga, absentmindedly rubbing her knee as he blew on his nails.

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she kicked him in the same spot Amaya had earlier. Kouga yelped, leaping off the couch and hitting his head on the ceiling. Everyone laughed, especially Inuyasha, everyone that is, but Ayame. She looked at him with sympathy but he was the only one who didn't seem to notice. "Shut up!" he yelled at the rest of the group and slumping down back into his seat with his arms crossed over his chest.

Ayame seemed to get an idea and then turned to Inuyasha, currently under Amaya. "Inuyasha, that name sounds really familiar. What school do you go to?" She asked him this politely and the girls all knew she was only making polite conversation but her question seemed to have Inuyasha jumpy. "Why should I tell you!" he asked rudely but soon regretted it when he was elbowed in the chest by Amaya.

"He plays football, that's probably where you've seen him." It was Sesshomaru who spoke this time, his voice was quiet and shy. Ayame gave him a big smile," Oh, that's probably why then, Amaya and I are on the cheerleading squad for our school." "Awesome!" Inuyasha shouted in a mockingly perky voice with a huge cheezy smile pasted to his face.

Amaya turned around so she was facing Inuyasha. Inuyasha began to get nervous as her face drew closer to his own, as if she was about to kiss him. When her nose was almost touching his own, her deep blue eyes turned into a glare. "Be nice." she whispered before smacking him on the head then turning around, leaving Inuyasha with a stunned look.

* * *

They had only been on the jet for a few hours and mostly everyone was already asleep. Sango had let Miroku out but only because everyone else was afraid he might suffocate. Sango had fallen asleep next to Miroku which, if you were Sango, was a very stupid thing to do. He had moved her head onto his shoulder and had his arm around her waist protectively. 

Kagome had fallen asleep in the middle of reading her magazine and Kouga was sitting next to her, staring off into space. Sesshomaru had gotten tired and a laid a blanket across the floor so he could stretch out and go to sleep. Amaya had fallen asleep on Inuyasha, leaving him with nothing to do but fall asleep as well.

Ayame was still awake and extremely bored. She was staring at her lap and twisting her skirt in between her fingers how she always did whenever she was nervous or bored. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and stood up, reaching into the carry-on compartment for her purse.

A pair of baby blue eyes followed her as she did this. She sat back down in her place next to Inuyasha on the couch again, moving carefully so she didn't wake him up, or Amaya. Ayame smirked, she'd have to make fun of Amaya for that later.

She pulled the small lavender box out of her purse and set it on her lap, she could only stare at it. While she was debating over what she should do she was interrupted. "Well, aren't ya gonna open it?" It was Kouga, apparently he had been watching her. She copied what Amaya would do when she was making a decision. Biting her lip always seemed to help her decide. Ayame bit her lip, hard enough to break the skin. She allowed the metallic taste of blood flow over her taste buds, causing her to cringe.

Well, it was now or never. Slowly, her fingers worked to untie the big blue bow. She opened the box but its contents were still covered by a layer of white tissue paper. Its not too late, you haven't seen it yet, you can still throw it away. That's what she was thinking until she noticed some words written in blue ink on the inside of the lid.

_Let the past be the past,_

_And please forgive._

_Show me by forever wearing this._

Ayame inhaled a large breath before slowly pulling off the rest of the paper. She gasped as her hand went to her opened mouth. Inside was a beautiful necklace, with a gold chain and a gold heart set with tiny diamonds set into it. She gently picked it out of the box and held it up. "Nice, who gave it to you, your boyfriend?" Kouga added the last part in less of a cheerful tone.

"No," Ayame said shyly," I don't have a boyfriend. "Oh," was all Kouga said but he turned away to hide his smile. "What about you, do you have a girlfriend?" For some reason, this question surprised Kouga. He gave a bored smile then looked over to Kagome. "Actually, Kagome said she would go out with me when we got to the Bahamas."

Ayame's face flushed, she didn't know if it was out of embarrassment, or anger. She glared at Kagome's sleeping form. How dare she say yes to Kouga! Kagome knew how much Ayame liked him, how could she do that to her? She noticed too late that Kouga was watching her so she quickly began to fiddle with her necklace.

When she couldn't get it clasped Kouga got up. "Here, "he said," Let me help you with that." She glared at him," No, I can do it myself!" Kouga ignored her and took the necklace from her own fingers behind her neck. He sent shivers down her spine whenever his fingers accidentally brushed against her neck.

"There, all done." he whispered, but he still don't move his hands from her neck. All of her anger evaporated. She could have sat like that for hours, but Kouga seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in a quickly walked back over to his seat, embarrassed. Wait, did she just say that right? Embarrassed?_ The_ Kouga was embarrassed?

He sat still for a few seconds before picking Kagome's magazine out her lap and flipped through it. "Do you think pink is my color?" Kouga asked in a high girly voice, batting his eyelashes. "I think you're dead!" Ayame yelled and jumped off the couch to chase after him.

* * *

The girl in his lap was what woke him up. He could feel her soft gentle breathing on his neck. In her sleep she had cuddled up to him, tucking her head under his chin. Her hair smelled like summer rain and the scent tickled his nose. Her body had completely warmed his up and made him feel relaxed and safe. 

He had no clue how he could have just met this girl and already sleep with her like this. But then he remembered, she didn't really want to. But it was still nice to have her there with him. It was nothing like being with Kikyou. Inuyasha got a slight shiver. The weird thing was, this girl's sister looked almost identical to Kikyou, and Amaya wasn't far off. They could easily pass as triplets if Amaya dyed her hair black and they all had the same eyes.

But that was the fault in his plan, their eyes would reveal everything. Kagome's eyes were a warm and welcoming brown. Kikyou's eyes were gray, but still completely beautiful, like a rainy winter morning. But Amaya's eyes were the ones he liked the most. They were blue, not light like Kouga's eyes, but dark and clear like the night sky. When she had looked at him closely earlier, they seemed to go on forever, like a never ending sea.

They were all completely different and captivating in their own ways. He sighed, if Kikyou found out about this, she would kill him, and it wasn't even his fault! He wasn't saying he didn't like it, but... He looked around the room. Everyone was asleep. Miroku had Sango pulled up against his chest, Inuyasha smirked. Miroku would be getting a slap for that when Sango woke up. Kagome had her head tilted back and her mouth was wide open.

Then Inuyasha got to Kouga. He was sleeping on the floor, cross-legged, with Ayame sleeping soundly in his lap. She seemed to have a bruise on her forehead. Inuyasha smirked again before realizing that his situation was even worse than Kouga's. He had a girlfriend and Kouga didn't. He sighed again, its not like anyone is going to tell on me, he thought as he wrapped his arms around the girl in his lap. Even if she was the most annoying girl in the planet, she was an angel when she slept.

* * *

"Ahh!" 

Inuyasha jumped forward as well as Amaya. She clung onto his neck, strangling him until she realized where she was and relaxed, but she still seemed a little confused. Ayame was the one who had screamed. She had woken up in Kouga's lap and freaked out when she saw him. That had scared Kagome, who fell on top of Miroku, who then dropped Sango on top of Sesshomaru.

The funny thing was, neither of the two could remember how they got that way. Amaya finally seemed to understand where she was and smiled. "I had the most wonderful dream," Amaya told Inuyasha while stretching her hands behind her head," But then it turned into a night mare." "And why was that?" Inuyasha scoffed. "Because you came," She said with a dry smile. The warm fuzzy feeling he had dropped instantly.

And with that feeling, so did Amaya, right onto the floor. "Oww, you idiot, that really hurt!" Inuyasha sighed, why she had to be so wonderful when she was sleeping but such a nightmare when she was awake. "Hey Kagome," Amaya shouted while getting up into the seat next to Inuyasha and scooting him down a seat. She turned sideways and sat cross legged in her seat and patted the spot in front of her. "Come over here." Kagome got up gladly, Kouga was beginning to bug her again.

"Turn," Amaya commanded with a twist of her finger. Kagome rolled her eyes but turned anyway. Amaya started to weave Kagome's beautiful hair through her fingers again since her hair had fallen out earlier. Inuyasha rolled his eyes," Girls." While Amaya was messing, she started to hum. Kagome joined in. It seemed to be a tune that only the two of them knew or would share. After a while, they seemed to realize everyone was staring at them.

"What?" they asked the room at the same time, as if they had practiced it for a play. They shrugged it off and Amaya finished the braided bun. "How does it look?" Amaya asked while turning Kagome around for Inuyasha to see. Inuyasha looked up while rolling his eyes, but then his jaw dropped, almost unnoticeable. Almost!

An evil grin began to spread across Amaya's face, even deadlier than one Inuyasha would give. No one else noticed, but behind Inuyasha's back, Sesshomaru stood up and was also staring at Kagome intently. Amaya rubbed her hands together and smiled," Let the games begin."

* * *

Kagome was sitting down at the end of the couch, finishing her magazine. Kouga blushed as he remembered why Ayame was in his lap. When she started chasing him, they had knocked heads and fell to the floor. Amaya was lying down across the three other seats with her feet in Kagome's lap. She had her headphones on and her eyes were closed. "So, you guys never told us why you're going to the Bahamas." Sango told Miroku and Kouga. Miroku looked down, he seemed to look ashamed and Sesshomaru turned a sharp eye on the two. 

"Spring Break, what else. We needed to get away," Kouga explained this in a tone that said talking to Sango was the most boring thing in the world. "Why did you come?" Miroku asked, obviously changing the attention but suddenly with hopeful eyes. Ayame broke out into a huge grin. "Sango got us tickets to see _Behind the Masks_!" she squeaked excitedly.

Ayame broke into giggles she was so excited and she looked like she was going to burst. Kouga and Miroku both broke out into huge grins to match Ayame's, Inuyasha smirked but still seemed happy, and Sesshomaru gave the boys another warning glare. "Hey Kag!" Kouga yelled," I bet your favorite member is the lead guitar, am I right?" Kagome cringed her nose. "No way! That's Sango's guy. I like the drummer!" She banged her head and used imaginary drumsticks to pound against Amaya's flip-flops. Both Miroku and Kouga's grins fell. "But Sango!" Miroku cried desperately," Don't you like the drummer?"

Sango gave him a weird look. "Why do you guys care? I'm surprised you even know what you're talking about. Mostly just girls like the band, the guys always seem to get jealous." "Duh," Inuyasha sneered. Miroku and Kouga both sat like little kids would in time-out.

"Why did you guys pick to go to the Bahamas? Are you going to see _Behind the Masks_ too?" Kagome asked the boys. "Keh, something like that," Inuyasha muttered from the floor. "Shut up Inuyasha!" It was the first time Sesshomaru and talked above a whisper. "I didn't say anything stupid so just leave me alone!" Inuyasha spat in his face. Miroku sighed," Aww, brotherly love." Ayame's eyes widened. "You two are… brothers?" She looked around the group with a dumbfounded stare. They all sighed and Sango patted her shoulder. Ayame only shrugged before slumping back down into her seat.

By now the skies were dark and the clouds looked like rolling hills of lavender cotton candy. "Whoa, look at the stars!" Sango gasped as she braved a look out the window. It looked magnificent, so clear you could see for miles. "Wow," Kagome whispered while looking out the window. "Amaya," Kagome said quietly while shaking her sister's foot," come look at this."

Kagome crawled over to her face and lifted the headphones off with care. Out loudly came the music of the familiar soft lullaby. Kagome smiled, she pulled the headphones away completely and when she didn't hear Amaya protest, she put them away. "She always did have to listen to this music while she fell asleep." Inuyasha smiled but that quickly left when something hit him. "Ugh! That means that she'll get the couch for the night all to herself!"

"No, she'll get that half and I'll get this half. Ayame and Sango can share the other one." She gave a sweet smile before adding the last part," and the boys can have the floor." "Thanks for being so generous," Inuyasha grumbled under his breath. "Well, I for one agree that the ladies should get the sofas, anything for my precious Sango." Miroku leaned over and snuggled into Sango's chest. Her eyes grew wider than an owl's as she screamed. "Get off!" She slapped him and watched him fall to the floor, out cold.

"I guess we know where Miroku's sleeping," Kouga smirked down at the lump on the floor under Sango. Ayame shrugged," You think he'd learn." "Keh, that's a good one." Inuyasha sniggered. Ayame whipped her head around and gave Inuyasha a deadly glare. She decided to take her anger out on Kouga by kicking him off the couch and making him fall next to Miroku. Kouga growled but was to drowsy to fight back, so he got up and laid down under where Kagome would be sleeping.

Ayame looked like she was either about to cry or rip someone's head off. She quickly rolled over so that no one could see her wet cheeks or the fire burning in her eyes. "Goodnight," she managed out in a choked voice. Inuyasha stared confusedly at the back of her head before looking to Sango for an explanation. She just rolled her eyes and turned over to face the back of the couch. "Boys are so stupid."

Inuyasha narrowed his golden eyes and glared at the back of her head, Eventually, he got bored and settled down on the floor with a blanket under Amaya. He heard a door open and felt a small gust if wind as Kagome climbed over Kouga and settled down into the comfy couch. Inwardly he scowled, why should she get the warm bed and he was stuck on the hard cold floor?

After all, he was the famous one! He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity, how would she know that? They'd done a pretty good job at keeping it all a secret. What's the fun in having fame if you don't get any of the recognition? He sighed, it was time for sleep. His thoughts slowly melted away as he dreamed. Amaya had a dream that night as well. One the made her shake and sweat. A true nightmare.

* * *

A soft lullaby danced through her ears, singing her softly to sleep. She frowned at the tinkling melody as it played through her headphones. She had listened to this same song since she was old enough to understand why she had nightmares. The crying of her mother is what the lullaby blocked out. She had cried every night since daddy went away. 

When Amaya had asked her where he went, Mommy had told her he went to heaven. When Amaya asked her where that was, she started to cry. Amaya walked over to her and hugged her leg. "It's alright mommy. I'll go to heaven and find him for you." But this didn't comfort her how Amaya had intended it to, it only made her cry harder.

"That is what I fear," she sobbed into her daughter's shoulder. Amaya hadn't understood then, it was impossible for her to understand why her mother always acted the way she did. But even more than she cried, she was scared. Ever little thing scared her, the phone ringing, the television, or the doorbell.

The older Amaya got, the more she couldn't stand to be around her mother. Sometimes, she would grow so angry, she would wish and pray for someone to just put her mother out of her misery. But after each time of thinking that, she had cried for hours for being so cruel. It scared her, her mommy being this way. But she didn't know what she could do to help her.

Once in the summer time, she remembered, she had tried to catch some tadpoles in the pond outside their house. Mommy had only looked at them once, swimming and twirling in the water inside the glass vase before throwing them out the open window. If anything else, mommy had grown most afraid of water. Amaya had this fear as well, and during her moments alone, had decided it was genetic.

But one night it got very cold, Amaya shivered under her three blankets. Tiny puffs of breath rose from her mouth as she listened to her midnight lullaby. But that night was odd, she couldn't sense her mommy in the next room or hear her sobs when she paused the cassette player. She laid there for a few more minutes before realizing that something was wrong, the house was so quiet all she could hear was her own breathing. She climbed out of bed, tip-toed across the freezing wooden floor, and crept to her mother's door. The floorboards under her small bare feet creaked slightly, causing her to be alert.

When she pushed open the door a big gust of cold air blew her hair back out of her eyes. She looked around the room then whispered to herself," Hmm, the window is open." She walked over to it and was about to close it when she noticed something glinting on the sill in the moonlight. It was water. Her eyes fell to the floor and she realized there was a trail of water leading toward the bed. As her eyes followed, so did her feet.

She gave a confused and scared look, the blanket was covering her mommy's head. Her heart began to beat at a quicker pace and she could feel the blood pumping through her veins. The place where the covers were tightly wrapped around her were soaked a darker color. Amaya took a deep breath while leaning over and slowly pulling the cover from her mother's face, what it revealed was terrifying. She screamed and fell backwards into the puddles of water on the floor.

Her mommy was staring back at her, her eyes wide and frozen in fear. Her mouth hung open slightly, Amaya couldn't tell if she was going to laugh or scream. Her skin was tinted purple and her lips were blue. Amaya stood up, forcing any courage she'd saved and walked towards the bed. Reaching out for her mommy's face, her body moved slowly and cautiously. Her hand was shaking, moving as if she were about to pet a poisonous snake.

The tip of her fingers connected with her face then quickly snapped back up to her chest. Her skin felt like ice. Amaya bit her chapped lip and started to have trouble breathing. Getting an idea, she ran back to the window, peering out into the snowy yard. The snow sparkled in the moonlight, looking like a soft blanket of sugar. She looked, but she couldn't see the pond from where she stood.

She would have to go out there to be sure if she was right. She turned as fast as she could but slipped in the water and fell to the ground, cutting her knee on something sharp. She felt around for it in the darkness until her fingers brushed over something small. It was the locket mommy always wore. Even though she wore it everyday, Amaya knew mommy hated the necklace more than anything else. She seemed to blame it for what happened to daddy.

Amaya put the silver chain over her head and let the necklace fall around her neck. She stood for a moment, and then remembered that she had to rush to find the truth. She ran down the steps and into the living room until she reached the front door. She ran out into the cold snow, barefoot, and slipped and skidded until she reached the frozen pond. Normally, a sheet of ice completely covered the surface.

But near the shore, a big piece had been punched in. Now she knew for sure, mommy had been drowned in the pond, in this very spot. However, the suspicions of a six year old were always easily confirmed. No one would truly believe her. She kneeled down to put her hands in the water, covering the bottom of her white night gown with frozen mud.

It was freezing cold but she didn't care, she was completely numb already anyway. She sighed before pulling her hands out again. She would have to call an ambulance, her mother had told her over and over the numbers to get the men in white if something ever happened. "9-1-1, 9-1-1, 9-1-1" she repeated them over out loud, as if she could forget them at any moment.

When she reached the open front door, she saw something on the ground, glinting in the snow. She leaned over and picked it up. It was a blue ink pen. She could tell it was very expensive and it was also heavy for a pen. She was rolling it back and forth across her palm when she noticed something. Two letters were inscribed in the pen in gold writing. They were initials, she assumed, the letters _K.K._

She wasn't for sure, but she thought this person might be the one who was here tonight. But like she said earlier, no one believes a little kid. So, she tucked the pen inside her pocket and went to the phone.

While it was ringing, she decided she couldn't really be mad at them for killing her. After all, they had only done what she had asked. A women's voice came on the line," 9-1-1, what's the emergency?" For the first time that night, she finally understood what happened. Her mother was gone forever, dead, a tear spilled down her cheek, and it was completely all her fault.


End file.
